QUERIER VOTE METHOD, ROUTER AND NETWORK SYSTEM

Description

Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to the communications field, and in particular, to a querier election method, a router, and a network system.

Background of the Invention

[0002] During the planning of an Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) network, a device is generally elected to act as a querier; the querier sends a query message to devices in the same multicast group on the IGMP network, and forwards data traffic.

[0003] Rfc2236 discloses IGMPv2 which is used by IP hosts to report their multicast group memberships to routers. IGMPv2 allows group membership termination to be quickly reported to the routing protocol which is important for high-bandwidth multicast groups and/or subnets with highly volatile group membership.When the devices on the network receive the query message from the querier, the devices compare their own addresses with the address of the querier, and the device with a lower address acts as the current querier. However, the following problems have become apparent in the prior art: During the network planning, the network planner generally elects a device with the lowest address to act as the querier; when a new device is added on the network or the address of a device on the network is modified, the new device or the device whose address is modified may become the current querier when receiving a query message if the address of the new device or the device whose address is modified is lower than the address of the current querier. In this case, the current querier on the network may be changed frequently, causing instability of the network.

Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present invention provides a querier election method, a router, and a network system to reduce the change of the querier and ensure the network stability.

[0005] According to the first aspect of the present invention a querier election method includes:

starting, by a querier, a sticky-querier-timer;

entering a sticky-querier state if the querier does not receive a query message before the sticky-querier-timer expires;

starting a sticky-query-timer, where the sticky-query-timer is configured to periodically trigger the querier to send a sticky-query message to at least one other network device on the network; and

wherein the querier is an Internet Group Management Protocol querier.

[0006] According to the second aspect of the present invention a router includes:

a querier electing unit, configured to participate in election of a querier with at least one other network device on the network;

a timing unit, configured to: start the sticky-querier-timer when the querier electing unit wins the election of a querier; enter the sticky-querier state if the querier does not receive a query message before the sticky-querier-timer expires, and start a sticky-query-timer if the sticky-querier-timer expires;

a query message sending unit, configured to periodically send a sticky-query message to the network device when the sticky-query-timer expires; and

wherein the querier is an Internet Group Management Protocol querier.

[0007] According to the third aspect of the present invention a network system in which a router is elected to be a querier according to a preset condition, includes:

a querier, configured to: start a sticky-querier-timer; enter the sticky-querier state if the querier does not receive a query message before the sticky-querier-timer expires; and start a sticky-query-timer, where the sticky-query-timer is configured to periodically trigger the querier to send a sticky-query message to at least one other network device on the network;

the network device, configured to: start an other-querier-present-timer and record the address of the querier when receiving the sticky-query message; and

wherein the querier is an Internet Group Management Protocol querier.

[0008] The technical solution provided by the present invention has the following benefits: after a querier is elected, a sticky-querier-timer is further set; after the sticky-querier-timer expires, a sticky-query-timer is started to periodically trigger the querier to send a sticky-query message to the network device; when the network device receive the sticky-query message, an other-querier-present-timer is directly started without comparing the addresses of the messages. Thus, the stability of the sticky-querier is maintained, and the network stability is guaranteed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009] To make the technical solution under the present invention clearer, the accompanying drawings for illustrating the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art are outlined below. Evidently, the accompanying drawings are exemplary only.

FIG. 1a is a flowchart of a querier election method in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1b is a schematic diagram illustrating a format of a sticky-query message in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates the state change of a device in an election process in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a handling process performed by a standby querier when the sticky-querier is faulty;

FIG. 4 shows a structure of a device in an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 shows a structure of a network system in an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Embodiments

[0010] The technical solution under the present invention is detailed below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Apparently, the embodiments described below are exemplary only, without covering all embodiments of the present invention.

[0011] Embodiments of the present invention provide a querier election method, a router, and a network system.

[0012] For better description, the querier mentioned in the prior art is defined as a common querier in embodiments of the present invention. The sticky-querier has the functions of the common querier. However, the sticky-querier sends a sticky-query message to a network device (one or more network devices on the network); after receiving the sticky-query message, the network device may neither compare its own address with the source address of the sticky-query message nor elect a sticky-querier each time when receiving the sticky-query message, thus ensuring the relative stability of the querier on the network and the relative stability of the network. In addition, once the sticky-querier is elected, the sticky-querier may replace the querier and may not be replaced by a newly added querier, thus ensuring the relative stability of the querier on the network and the relative stability of the network.

[0013] It should be noted that the sticky-query message sent by the sticky-querier has the function of a common query message but the type of the sticky-query message is different from the type of the common query message. After receiving the sticky-query message, the network device may neither compare their own addresses with the address of the sticky-query message nor elect a sticky-querier. Thus, the relative stability of the network is maintained. In addition, a sticky-querier-timer and a sticky-query-timer are provided in embodiments of the present invention. The time specified by the sticky-querier-timer is equal to the time when the querier becomes the sticky-querier. The time specified by the sticky-query-timer is equal to the period in which the sticky-querier sends a sticky-query message.

Embodiment 1

[0014] FIG. 1a is a flowchart of a querier election method in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The querier election method includes the following steps:

Step 11: A device is elected to be a querier.

[0015] A querier is elected among the current devices. An interface of the device may act as the querier, which is configured to: send a query message, forward data traffic, or modify the forwarding rule. In this step, the current devices are all the devices on the network when the network is formed.

Step 12: The querier starts the sticky-querier-timer.

[0016] After the querier is elected, the current device elected to be the querier starts the sticky-querier-timer. The time specified by the sticky-querier-timer is equal to the time when the querier becomes the sticky-querier.

[0017] Step 13: The querier judges whether a query message is received before the sticky-querier-timer expires.

[0018] If the querier does not receive a query message before the sticky-querier-timer expires, the querier deletes the sticky-querier-timer when the sticky-querier-timer expires, and the querier changes from the querier state to the sticky-querier state, that is, the querier becomes the sticky-querier. Then, the process proceeds to step 15. If the querier receives a query message before the sticky-querier-timer expires, the querier judges the type of the message and the process proceeds to step 14.

Step 14: The querier judges the type of the message.

[0019] If the querier receives a sticky-query message (the message sent from a sticky-querier) when the sticky-querier-timer does not expire, it indicates that a sticky-querier already exists on the current network, and the current querier enters the non-querier state. Then, the process proceeds to step 141. If the querier receives a query message (the message sent from a querier) when the sticky-querier-timer does not expire, the process proceeds to step 142.

[0020] Step 141: The current querier enters the non-querier state, starts the other-querier-present-timer, and records the address of the sticky-querier that sends the sticky-query message.

[0021] Starting the other-querier-present-timer indicates there are other sticky-queriers on the network, and the current querier enters the non-querier state. The period of the other-querier-present-timer is set to be the same as the period of the sticky-query-timer. When the other-querier-present-timer expires, the querier deletes the currently recorded address of the sticky-querier.

Step 142: A querier is reelected.

[0022] The querier receiving the query message participates in election of a querier with the querier sending the query message. The election rule is as follows: the addresses of the queriers are compared, and the querier with a lower address wins the election. Specifically, the address of the querier sending the query message is compared with the address of the current querier; only the querier with a lower address exists on the network, and the querier with a higher address enters the non-querier state.

Step 15: The sticky-querier starts the sticky-query-timer.

[0023] After a device is determined as the sticky-querier, the sticky-querier starts the sticky-query-timer. The time specified by the sticky-query-timer is equal to the period in which the sticky-querier sends a sticky-query message. The sticky-query-timer may be a cyclic timer, and can be reset upon expiration to start a new round of timing.

[0024] Step 16: The sticky-querier judges whether a query message is received before the sticky-query-timer expires.

[0025] If the sticky-querier receives a query message before the sticky-query-timer expires, the sticky-querier judges the type of the message, and the process proceeds to step 17. If the sticky-querier does not receive a query message before the sticky-query-timer expires, the sticky-querier sends a sticky-query message, and the process proceeds to step 18.

Step 17: The sticky-querier judges the type of the message.

[0026] If the sticky-querier receives a sticky-query message when the sticky-query-timer does not expire, it indicates that other sticky-queriers exist on the network, and the process proceeds to step 171. If the sticky-querier receives a query message when the sticky-query-timer does not expire, it indicates that a querier also exists on the network, and the process proceeds to step 172.

Step 171: A sticky-querier is reelected.

[0027] The sticky-querier receiving the sticky-query message participates in election of a sticky-querier with the sticky-querier sending the sticky-query message. The election rule is as follows: the addresses of the sticky-queriers are compared; and the sticky-querier with a lower address wins the election. Specifically, the address of the sticky-querier sending the sticky-query message is compared with the address of the current sticky-querier; only the sticky-querier with a lower address exists on the network; and the sticky-querier with a higher address enters the non-querier state.

[0028] Step 172: The sticky-querier discards the received query message, or sends a sticky-query message to the querier sending the query message.

[0029] Step 18: The sticky-querier sends a sticky-query message to the devices on the network when the sticky-query-timer expires.

[0030] The devices on the network may be in various states, for example, the non-querier state, querier state, or sticky-querier state.

[0031] In this embodiment, the format of the query message is defined in the prior art, and is not further described herein. The format of the sticky-query message may be customized. For example, FIG. 1b illustrates a format of a sticky-query message. The message in FIG. 1b uses the format of the IGMP query message, including Type, Max Response Time, Checksum, and Group Address, where the Type field defines an idle type; for example, the 0xEE is used to identify the sticky-query message.

[0032] A unique sticky-querier is elected on the network. During the network planning, the network planner generally sets a device as a standby sticky-querier to ensure the network stability. When the sticky-querier is faulty, the standby sticky-querier acts as the sticky-querier. When the standby sticky-querier does not become the sticky-querier, the standby sticky-querier, being a device in the non-querier state on the network, starts the other-querier-present-timer to establish a fast detection connection with the current sticky-querier. The standby sticky-querier establishes a fast detection connection with the sticky-querier, so that the standby sticky-querier can find the faults of the sticky-querier quickly and change from the non-querier state to the querier state within a short time, thus replacing the original sticky-querier and ensuring the network stability in the case of a sticky-querier fault. In this embodiment, the connection established through a bi-directional fast detection session (BFD session) or over the Ethernet Operation, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) protocol may be set according to the actual condition, and is not further described.

[0033] If there is no sticky-querier on the network at the beginning and the querier finds that a sticky-querier exists on the current network during the process of electing the sticky-querier, the querier does not participate in election with the current sticky-querier but enters the non-querier state. In addition, if the querier finds that a sticky-querier exists on the current network during the process of electing the sticky-querier, the querier participates in the election of the sticky-querier. In this embodiment, it is guaranteed that only a sticky-querier exists on the current network according to different conditions of the network; when there are two sticky-queriers on the current network, the sticky-queriers participate in the election; when a querier exists on the current network, the querier enters the non-querier state after receiving a sticky-query message sent from the sticky-querier; when the sticky-querier is not elected and multiple queriers exist on the network, the queriers participate in the election, thus ensuring that only one sticky-querier is elected. In this way, the relative stability of the sticky-querier is maintained, and the network stability is guaranteed.

Embodiment 2

[0034] For better description of the state change of a device during the election process, FIG. 2 illustrates the state change of the device in Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

[0035] The states of the device on the network include the non-querier state, querier state, and sticky-querier state. In other embodiments of the present invention, the querier is a network device in the querier state, and the sticky-querier is a network device in the sticky-querier state.

[0036] The following describes the change between each state.

1. The network device in the non-querier state (hereinafter referred to as the non-querier device) starts the other-querier-present-timer. If the network device receives a query message (for example, a query message or a sticky-query message) before the other-querier-present-timer expires, the network device maintains the non-querier state.
If the non-querier device does not receive a query message before the other-querier-present-timer expires, the non-querier device participates in election with other non-querier devices, and a querier is elected according to the election rule. For example, the non-querier device with the lowest address is elected to be the querier and enters the querier state (the network device in the querier state is hereinafter referred to as the querier device); or the non-querier device, being the standby querier, determines the active/standby switchover by using a fast detection connection after the active querier takes effect or is faulty, and changes from the non-querier state to the querier state.

2. The querier device starts the sticky-querier-timer. If the querier device receives a query message before the sticky-querier-time expires, a querier is reelected according to the election rule. The reelection may be as follows: each querier device participates in election; the querier device with a lower address acts as the new querier, and other querier devices enter the non-querier state; or all the devices in each state participate in the election, and the device with the lowest address acts as a new querier; if the querier device receives a sticky-query message before the other-querier-present-timer expires, the querier device enters the non-querier state (the network device in the sticky-querier state is hereinafter referred to as the sticky-querier device).
The querier device enters the sticky-querier state after the sticky-querier-timer expires. That is, the elected querier changes from the querier state to the sticky-querier state.

3. The sticky-querier device starts the sticky-query-timer. If the sticky-querier device receives a query message before the sticky-query-time expires, the sticky-querier device discards the query message. If the sticky-querier device receives a sticky-query message before the sticky-query-timer expires, a sticky-querier is reelected. The reelection rule may be as follows: each sticky-querier device participates in reelection, and the sticky-querier device with the lowest address is elected to be the new sticky-querier device, and other sticky-querier devices enter the non-querier state.

[0037] After the sticky-query-timer expires, the sticky-querier device sends a sticky-query message to each device on the network, and resets the sticky-query-timer to start timing again.

[0038] The other-querier-present-timer exists only on the devices in the non-querier state. When the devices change from the non-querier state to other states, the devices delete the other-querier-present-timer. The sticky-querier-timer exists only on the devices in the querier state. When the devices change from the querier state to other states, the devices delete the sticky-querier-timer. The sticky-query-timer exists only on the devices in the sticky-querier state. When the devices change from the sticky-querier state to other states, the devices delete the sticky-query-timer. In addition, when the devices are in the querier state, they can also send a query message by a certain period. For example, when the transmission period of the query message is shorter than the time length of the sticky-querier-timer, the devices may send a query message once or several times before the sticky-querier-timer expires.

Embodiment 3

[0039] After a sticky-querier is elected, the sticky-querier sends a sticky-query message to devices on the network. Embodiment 3 of the present invention provides a message query method according to different conditions of the network. This method describes processing modes under various conditions of the network after the sticky-querier is elected. FIG. 3 illustrates a handling process performed by a standby querier when the sticky-querier is faulty in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The handling process includes the following steps:

Step 30: When the current sticky-querier is faulty, the standby querier finds that the current sticky-querier is faulty through the fast detection connection.

Step 31: The standby querier starts the sticky-querier-timer, and changes from the non-querier state to the querier state.

When the sticky-querier-timer expires, the standby querier deletes the sticky-querier-timer, and changes from the querier state to the sticky-querier state. Then, the process proceeds to step 32.

Step 32: The sticky-query-timer is started, and the standby querier becomes the sticky-querier.

Step 33: The sticky-querier sends a sticky-query message to the devices on the network when the sticky-query-timer expires.

Step 34: When the faulty sticky-querier is recovered, the current sticky-querier on the network finds that the faulty sticky-querier is recovered through the fast detection connection, and sends a sticky-query message to the recovered sticky-querier.

Step 35: After receiving the sticky-query message, the recovered sticky-querier enters the non-querier state. This avoids the reelection of a querier after the faulty querier is recovered, thus ensuring the network stability.

[0040] In this embodiment, after the faulty sticky-querier is recovered, the election of a querier is cancelled. Thus, the relative stability of the sticky-querier is maintained, and the network stability is guaranteed.

Embodiment 4

[0041] Embodiment 4 of the present invention provides a device using the preceding method. FIG. 4 shows a structure of a first device. As shown in FIG. 4, the first device includes:

a querier electing unit 41, configured to participate in election of a querier with each network device;

a timing unit 42, configured to: when the querier electing unit 41 wins the election of the querier, start the sticky-querier-timer; when the sticky-querier-timer expires, delete the sticky-querier-timer, and start the sticky-query-timer, where the first device changes from the querier state to the sticky-querier state; when the sticky-query-timer expires, reset the sticky-query-timer; and

a query message sending unit 43, configured to periodically send a sticky-query message to each network device when the sticky-query-timer expires, where the sticky-query message is used to notify each network device of the timer.

[0042] The first device may further include a sticky-query message processing unit 4 configured to: process sticky-query messages received from other network devices; if the sticky-query-timer is not started, notify the timing unit 42 that the timing unit 42 needs to delete the sticky-querier-timer, start the other-querier-present-timer, and record the addresses of other network devices; or if the sticky-query-timer is already started, notify the querier electing unit 41 that the querier electing unit 41 needs to participate in election with other network devices.

[0043] The first device may further include a query message processing unit 45 configured to: process query messages received from other network devices; if the sticky-query-timer is not started, notify the querier electing unit 41 that the querier electing unit 41 needs to participate in election with other network devices; if the sticky-query-timer is already started, discard the query message.

[0044] The first device may further include a fast detection connecting unit 46 configured to establish a fast detection connection with the standby querier, where the fast detection connection is used by the standby querier to locate the fault of the first device. The fast detection connecting unit of the standby querier is configured to: establish a fast detection connection with the querier, and notify the timing unit of the standby querier that the timing unit needs to start the sticky-querier-timer when detecting faults of the querier.

[0045] In this embodiment, the first device may include all or some of the preceding units concurrently. For example, the first device includes the querier electing unit 41, the timing unit 42, the query message sending unit 43, and one or more of the sticky-query message processing unit 44, the query message processing unit 45 or the fast detection connecting unit.

[0046] The preceding first device may be a router. The router may further include a data forwarding unit configured to receive and forward data. In addition, the first device may further include a receiving unit 40 configured to receive data or messages sent from other network devices. For example, the receiving unit 40 receives a query message and sends the query message to the query message processing unit 45, receives a sticky-query message and sends the sticky-query message to the sticky-query message processing unit 44, and receives data and sends the data to the data forwarding unit. The preceding sticky-query message may adopt the format of the message in Embodiment 1.

[0047] In this embodiment, after the router is elected to be a querier, the sticky-querier-timer is started; after the sticky-querier-timer expires, the sticky-query-timer is started; the sticky-query-timer is used to periodically trigger the transmission of a sticky-query message; after other network devices receive the sticky-query message, the network devices do not participate in the election of a querier according to the sticky-query identifier in the sticky-query message. Thus, only one querier exists on the network and the querier is relatively stable, and the network stability is guaranteed.

Embodiment 5

[0048] FIG.5 illustrates a network system in Embodiment 5 of the present invention. The network system includes multiple network devices that may include one or multiple routers. In the network system, a router is elected to be a querier 51 according to the preset condition.

[0049] The querier 51 is configured to: start the sticky-querier-timer; when the sticky-querier-time expires, delete the sticky-querier-timer, and start the sticky-query-timer. Then, the querier 51 enters the sticky-querier state. The sticky-query-timer is configured to periodically trigger the querier 51 to periodically send a sticky-query message to each network device 50.

[0050] Each network device 50 is configured to: when receiving the sticky-query message, start the other-querier-present-timer, and record the address of the querier 51.

[0051] The preceding network system may further be configured with a standby querier 52. The standby querier 52 is configured to: establish a fast detection connection with the querier 51; when the querier 51 is faulty, start the sticky-querier-timer; when the sticky-querier-timer expires, delete the sticky-querier-timer, and start the sticky-query-time. Then, the standby querier 52 enters the sticky-querier state.

[0052] In other embodiments, the preceding router elected to be a querier may be any router in Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

[0053] In this embodiment, after the router is elected to be a querier, the sticky-querier-timer is started; after the sticky-querier-timer expires, the sticky-query-timer is started; the sticky-query-timer is used to periodically trigger the transmission of the sticky-query message; after other network devices receive the sticky-query message, the network devices do not participate in the election of a querier according to the sticky-query identifier in the sticky-query message. Thus, only one querier exists on the network and the querier is relatively stable, and the network stability is guaranteed.

[0054] Detailed above are a method and device for electing a querier in embodiments of the present invention. Persons having ordinary skill in the art can make variations and modifications to the present invention in terms of specific implementations and application scopes according to the ideas of the present invention. Therefore, the specification shall not be construed as limitations to the present invention.

Claims

1. A querier election method, comprising:

starting (12), by a querier, a sticky-querier-timer;

entering a sticky-querier state if the querier does not receive a query message before the sticky-querier-timer expires; and

starting a sticky-query-timer (15), wherein the sticky-query-timer is configured to periodically trigger the querier to send a sticky-query message to at least one other network device on the network;

and wherein the querier is an Internet Group Management Protocol querier.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein when the querier receives sticky-query messages from the network device, the method further comprises:

if the querier does not enter the sticky-querier state, starting an other-querier-present-timer, and recording address of the network devices; or

if the querier enters the sticky-querier state, participating in election with the network device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein if the querier enters the sticky-querier state, the step of participating in the election with the network device comprises:

if the querier enters the sticky-querier state, comparing an address of the querier with the address of the network device, and electing the querier with a lower address or the network device with a lower address to be a sticky-querier.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein when the querier receives a query message from the network device, the method further comprises:

if the querier does not enter the sticky-querier state, participating in the election with the network device; and

if the querier enters the sticky-querier state, discarding the query message.

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein after starting the sticky-query-timer, the method further comprises:

setting a standby querier, wherein the standby querier is configured to start the other-querier-present-timer, and establishing, by the querier, a fast detection connection with the standby querier.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein when the querier is faulty, the standby querier deletes the other-querier-present-timer and starts the sticky-querier-timer, wherein:

if the sticky-querier-timer expires, the standby querier deletes the sticky-querier-timer, starts the sticky-query-timer, and enters the sticky-querier state.

7. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sticky-query message comprises a sticky-query identifier for notifying a receiver that the receiver does not need to participate in the election of the querier.

8. A router, comprising:

a querier electing unit (41), configured to participate in election of a querier with at least one other network device;

a timing unit (42), configured to: start a sticky-querier-timer when the querier electing unit wins the election of a querier; enter a sticky-querier state if the querier does not receive a query message before the sticky-querier-timer expires, and start a sticky-query-timer if the sticky-querier-timer expires;

a query message sending unit (43), configured to periodically send a sticky-query message to the network device when the sticky-query-timer expires;

and wherein the querier is an Internet Group Management Protocol querier.

9. The router of claim 8, further comprising:

a sticky-query message processing unit (44), configured to: when receiving sticky-query messages from the network device, notify the timing unit that the timing unit needs to start an other-querier-present-timer and record addresses of the network device if the timing unit does not enter the sticky-querier state; or, notify the querier electing unit that the querier electing unit needs to participate in the election with the other devices if the timing unit enters the sticky-querier state.

10. The router of claim 9, further comprising:

a query message processing unit (45), configured to: when receiving query messages from the network device, notify the querier electing unit that the querier electing unit needs to participate in the election with the network device if the timing unit does not enter the sticky-querier state; and discard the query messages if the timing unit enters the sticky-querier state.

11. The router of any of claims 8 to 10, further comprising:

a fast detection connecting unit(46), configured to establish a fast detection connection with a standby querier, wherein the fast detection connection is used by the standby querier to determine faults of the router.

12. A network system, wherein a router is elected to be a querier according to a preset condition, comprising:

a querier (51), configured to: start a sticky-querier-timer; enter a sticky-querier state if the querier does not receive a query message before the sticky-querier-timer expires; and start a sticky-query-timer, wherein the sticky-query-timer is configured to periodically trigger the querier to send a sticky-query message to at least one other network device on the network;

the network device (50), configured to: when receiving the sticky-query message, start an other-querier-present-timer, and record an address of the querier

and wherein the querier is an Internet Group Management Protocol querier.

13. The network system of claim 12, further comprising:

a standby querier (52), configured to: establish a fast detection connection with the querier, start the sticky-querier-timer when the querier is faulty, and start the sticky-query-timer when the sticky-querier-timer expires.

14. The network system of claim 12 or 13, wherein the querier is further configured to: receive sticky-query messages from the network device; if the querier does not enter the sticky-querier state, start the other-querier-present-timer, and record addresses of the network device; or participate in election with the network device if the querier enters the sticky-querier state.

Ansprüche

1. Abfrager-Wahlverfahren, das Folgendes umfasst:

Starten (12) durch einen Abfrager eines Zeitgebers für anhängenden Abfrager;

Eintreten in einen Zustand eines anhängenden Abfragers, falls der Abfrager eine Abfragenachricht nicht empfängt, bevor der Zeitgeber für anhängenden Abfrager abgelaufen ist; und

Starten eines Zeitgebers (15) für anhängende Abfrage, wobei der Zeitgeber für anhängende Abfrage konfiguriert ist, den Abfrager periodisch auszulösen, damit er eine Nachricht für anhängende Abfrage wenigstens zu einer weiteren Netzvorrichtung in dem Netz sendet;

und wobei der Abfrager ein Internetgruppen-Managementprotokoll-Abfrager ist.

2. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei dann, wenn der Abfrager Nachrichten für anhängende Abfrage von der Netzvorrichtung empfängt, das Verfahren ferner Folgendes umfasst:

falls der Abfrager nicht in den Zustand eines anhängenden Abfragers eintritt, Starten eines Zeitgebers für das Vorhandensein eines anderen Abfragers und Aufzeichnen einer Adresse der Netzvorrichtungen; oder

falls der Abfrager in den Zustand eines anhängenden Abfragers eintritt, Teilnehmen an der Wahl mit der Netzvorrichtung.

3. Verfahren nach Anspruch 2, wobei dann, falls der Abfrager in den Zustand eines anhängenden Abfragers eintritt, der Schritt des Teilnehmens an der Wahl mit der Netzvorrichtung Folgendes umfasst:

falls der Abfrager in den Zustand eines anhängenden Abfragers eintritt, Vergleichen einer Adresse des Abfragers mit der Adresse der Netzvorrichtung und Wählen des Abfragers mit einer niedrigeren Adresse oder der Netzvorrichtung mit einer niedrigeren Adresse als einen anhängenden Abfrager.

4. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei dann, wenn der Abfrager eine Abfragenachricht von der Netzvorrichtung empfängt, das Verfahren ferner Folgendes umfasst:

falls der Abfrager nicht in den Zustand eines anhängenden Abfragers eintritt, Teilnehmen an der Wahl mit der Netzvorrichtung; und

falls der Abfrager in den Zustand eines anhängenden Abfragers eintritt, Verwerfen der Abfragenachricht.

5. Verfahren nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 4, wobei nach dem Starten des Zeitgebers für anhängende Abfrage das Verfahren ferner Folgendes umfasst:

Einstellen eines Bereitschaftsabfragers, wobei der Bereitschaftsabfrager konfiguriert ist, den Zeitgeber für das Vorhandensein eines anderen Abfragers zu starten und durch den Abfrager eine Verbindung für schnelle Detektion mit dem Bereitschaftsabfrager aufzubauen.

6. Verfahren nach Anspruch 5, wobei dann, wenn der Abfrager fehlerhaft ist, der Bereitschaftsabfrager den Zeitgeber für das Vorhandensein eines anderen Abfragers löscht und den Zeitgeber für anhängenden Abfrager startet, wobei:

falls der Zeitgeber für anhängenden Abfrager abgelaufen ist, der Bereitschaftsabfrager den Zeitgeber für anhängenden Abfrager löscht, den Zeitgeber für anhängende Abfrage startet und in den Zustand eines anhängenden Abfragers eintritt.

7. Verfahren nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 4, wobei die Nachricht für anhängende Abfrage eine Kennung für anhängende Abfrage umfasst, um einen Empfänger zu benachrichtigen, dass der Empfänger nicht an der Wahl des Abfragers teilnehmen muss.

8. Router, der Folgendes umfasst:

eine Abfragewahleinheit (41), die konfiguriert ist, an einer Wahl eines Abfragers mit wenigstens einer anderen Netzvorrichtung teilzunehmen;

eine Zeitvorgabeeinheit (42), die konfiguriert ist: einen Zeitgeber für anhängenden Abfrager zu starten, wenn die Abfragerwahleinheit die Wahl eines Abfragers gewinnt; in einen Zustand eines anhängenden Abfragers einzutreten, falls der Abfrager keine Abfragenachricht empfängt, bevor der Zeitgeber für anhängenden Abfrager abgelaufen ist, und einen Zeitgeber für anhängende Abfrage startet, falls der Zeitgeber für anhängenden Abfrager abgelaufen ist;

eine Abfragenachricht-Sendeeinheit (43), die konfiguriert ist, eine Nachricht für anhängende Abfrage periodisch zu der Netzvorrichtung zu senden, wenn der Zeitgeber für anhängende Abfrage abgelaufen ist;

und wobei der Abfrager ein Internetgruppen-Managementprotokoll-Abfrager ist.

9. Router nach Anspruch 8, der ferner Folgendes umfasst:

eine Verarbeitungseinheit (44) für Nachrichten für anhängende Abfrage, die konfiguriert ist: dann, wenn Nachrichten für anhängende Abfrage von der Netzvorrichtung empfangen werden, die Zeitvorgabeeinheit zu benachrichtigen, dass die Zeitvorgabeeinheit einen Zeitgeber für das Vorhandensein eines anderen Abfragers starten muss und Adressen der Netzvorrichtung aufzeichnen muss, falls die Zeitvorgabeeinheit nicht in den Zustand eines anhängenden Abfragers eintritt;

oder die Abfragerwahleinheit zu benachrichtigen, dass die Abfragerwahleinheit an der Wahl mit den anderen Vorrichtungen teilnehmen muss, falls die Zeitvorgabeeinheit in den Zustand eines anhängenden Abfragers eintritt.

10. Router nach Anspruch 9, der ferner Folgendes umfasst:

eine Abfragenachricht-Verarbeitungseinheit (45), die konfiguriert ist: dann, wenn Abfragenachrichten von der Netzvorrichtung empfangen werden, die Abfragerwahleinheit zu benachrichtigen, dass die Abfragerwahleinheit an der Wahl mit der Netzvorrichtung teilnehmen muss, falls die Zeitvorgabeeinheit nicht in den Zustand eines anhängenden Abfragers eintritt; und die Abfragenachrichten zu verwerfen, falls die Zeitvorgabeeinheit in den Zustand eines anhängenden Abfragers eintritt.

11. Router nach einem der Ansprüche 8 bis 10, der ferner Folgendes umfasst:

eine Einheit (46) für eine Verbindung für schnelle Detektion, die konfiguriert ist, eine Verbindung für schnelle Detektion mit einem Bereitschaftsabfrager aufzubauen, wobei die Verbindung für schnelle Detektion durch den Bereitschaftsabfrager verwendet wird, um Fehler des Routers zu bestimmen.

12. Netzsystem, wobei ein Router als ein Abfrager in Übereinstimmung mit einer im Voraus festgelegten Bedingung gewählt wird, das Folgendes umfasst:

einen Abfrager (51), der konfiguriert ist: einen Zeitgeber für anhängenden Abfrager zu starten; in einen Zustand eines anhängenden Abfragers einzutreten, falls der Abfrager keine Abfragenachricht empfängt, bevor der Zeitgeber für anhängenden Abfrager abgelaufen ist; und einen Zeitgeber für anhängende Abfrage zu starten, wobei der Zeitgeber für anhängende Abfrage konfiguriert ist, den Abfrager periodisch auszulösen, damit er eine Nachricht für anhängende Abfrage wenigstens zu einer anderen Netzvorrichtung in dem Netz sendet;

wobei die Netzvorrichtung (50) konfiguriert ist: dann, wenn die Nachricht für anhängende Abfrage empfangen wird, einen Zeitgeber für das Vorhandensein eines anderen Abfragers zu starten und eine Adresse des Abfragers aufzuzeichnen;

und wobei der Abfrager ein Internetgruppen-Managementprotokoll-Abfrager ist.

13. Netzsystem nach Anspruch 12, das ferner Folgendes umfasst:

einen Bereitschaftsabfrager (52), der konfiguriert ist: eine Verbindung für schnelle Detektion mit dem Abfrager aufzubauen, den Zeitgeber für anhängenden Abfrager zu starten, wenn der Abfrager fehlerhaft ist, und den Zeitgeber für anhängende Abfrage zu starten, wenn der Zeitgeber für anhängenden Abfrager abgelaufen ist.

14. Netzsystem nach Anspruch 12 oder 13, wobei der Abfrager ferner konfiguriert ist:

Nachrichten für anhängende Abfrage von der Netzvorrichtung zu empfangen; falls der Abfrager nicht in den Zustand eines anhängenden Abfragers eintritt, den Zeitgeber für das Vorhandensein eines anderen Abfragers zu starten und Adressen der Netzvorrichtung aufzuzeichnen; oder an einer Wahl mit der Netzvorrichtung teilzunehmen, falls der Abfrager in den Zustand eines anhängenden Abfragers eintritt.

Revendications

1. Procédé d'élection d'interrogateur, comprenant :

le lancement (12), par un interrogateur, d'une temporisation d'interrogateur épinglé ;

le passage à un état d'interrogateur épinglé si l'interrogateur ne reçoit pas de message d'interrogation avant l'expiration de la temporisation d'interrogateur épinglé ; et

le lancement d'une temporisation d'interrogation épinglée (15), la temporisation d'interrogation épinglée étant configurée pour déclencher périodiquement l'interrogateur afin qu'il envoie un message d'interrogation épinglée à au moins un autre dispositif de réseau sur le réseau ;

et dans lequel l'interrogateur est un interrogateur à Protocole de Gestion de Groupe Internet.

2. Procédé selon la revendication 1, comprenant en outre quand l'interrogateur reçoit des messages d'interrogation épinglée depuis le dispositif de réseau :

si l'interrogateur ne passe pas à l'état d'interrogateur épinglé, le lancement d'une temporisation d'autre interrogateur présent, et l'enregistrement de l'adresse des dispositifs de réseau ; ou

si l'interrogateur passe à l'état d'interrogateur épinglé, la participation à l'élection avec le dispositif de réseau.

3. Procédé selon la revendication 2, dans lequel si l'interrogateur passe à l'état d'interrogateur épinglé, l'étape de participation à l'élection avec le dispositif de réseau comprend :

si l'interrogateur passe à l'état d'interrogateur épinglé, la comparaison d'une adresse de l'interrogateur à l'adresse du dispositif de réseau, et l'élection de l'interrogateur ayant une adresse inférieure ou du dispositif de réseau ayant une adresse inférieure comme interrogateur épinglé.

4. Procédé selon la revendication 1, comprenant en outre quand l'interrogateur reçoit un message d'interrogation depuis le dispositif de réseau :

si l'interrogateur ne passe pas à l'état d'interrogateur épinglé, la participation à l'élection avec le dispositif de réseau ; et

si l'interrogateur passe à l'état d'interrogateur épinglé, le rejet du message d'interrogation.

5. Procédé selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 4, comprenant en outre après le lancement de la temporisation d'interrogation épinglée :

l'établissement d'un interrogateur de secours, l'interrogateur de secours étant configuré pour lancer la temporisation d'autre interrogateur présent, et l'établissement, par l'interrogateur, d'une connexion de détection rapide avec l'interrogateur de secours.

6. Procédé selon la revendication 5, dans lequel quand l'interrogateur est défectueux, l'interrogateur de secours supprime la temporisation d'autre interrogateur présent et lance la temporisation d'interrogateur épinglé, dans lequel :

si la temporisation d'interrogateur épinglé expire, l'interrogateur de secours supprime la temporisation d'interrogateur épinglé, lance la temporisation d'interrogation épinglée et passe sur l'état d'interrogateur épinglé.

7. Procédé selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 4, dans lequel le message d'interrogation épinglée comprend un identifiant d'interrogation épinglée pour aviser le récepteur qu'il n'a pas à participer à l'élection de l'interrogateur.

8. Routeur, comprenant :

une unité d'élection d'interrogateur (41), configurée pour participer à l'élection d'un interrogateur avec au moins un autre dispositif de réseau ;

une unité de temporisation (42), configurée pour : lancer une temporisation d'interrogateur épinglé quand l'unité d'élection d'interrogateur remporte l'élection d'un interrogateur ; passer à un état d'interrogateur épinglé si l'interrogateur ne reçoit pas de message d'interrogation avant l'expiration de la temporisation d'interrogateur épinglé, et lancer une temporisation d'interrogation épinglée si la temporisation d'interrogateur épinglé expire ;

une unité d'envoi de message d'interrogation (43), configurée pour envoyer périodiquement un message d'interrogation épinglée au dispositif de réseau quand la temporisation d'interrogation épinglée expire ;

et dans lequel l'interrogateur est un interrogateur à Protocole de Gestion de Groupe Internet.

9. Routeur selon la revendication 8, comprenant en outre :

une unité de traitement de message d'interrogation épinglée (44), configurée pour : à la réception de messages d'interrogation épinglée depuis le dispositif de réseau, aviser l'unité de temporisation qu'elle doit lancer une temporisation d'autre interrogateur présent, et enregistrer les adresses du dispositif de réseau si l'unité de temporisation ne passe pas à l'état d'interrogateur épinglé ; ou aviser l'unité d'élection d'interrogateur qu'elle doit participer à l'élection avec les autres dispositifs si l'unité de temporisation passe à l'état d'interrogateur épinglé.

10. Routeur selon la revendication 9, comprenant en outre :

une unité de traitement de message d'interrogation (45), configurée pour : à la réception de messages d'interrogation depuis le dispositif de réseau, aviser l'unité d'élection d'interrogateur qu'elle doit participer à l'élection avec le dispositif de réseau si l'unité de temporisation ne passe pas à l'état d'interrogateur épinglé ; et rejeter les messages d'interrogation si l'unité de temporisation passe à l'état d'interrogateur épinglé.

11. Routeur selon l'une quelconque des revendications 8 à 10, comprenant en outre :

une unité de connexion de détection rapide (46), configurée pour établir une connexion de détection rapide avec un interrogateur de secours, dans lequel la connexion de détection rapide est utilisée par l'interrogateur de secours pour déterminer des défaillances du routeur.

12. Système de réseau, dans lequel un routeur est élu comme interrogateur selon une condition préétablie, comprenant :

un interrogateur (51), configuré pour : lancer une temporisation d'interrogateur épinglé ; passer à un état d'interrogateur épinglé si l'interrogateur ne reçoit pas de message d'interrogation avant l'expiration de la temporisation d'interrogateur épinglé ; et lancer une temporisation d'interrogation épinglée, la temporisation d'interrogation épinglée étant configurée pour déclencher périodiquement l'interrogateur afin qu'il envoie un message d'interrogation épinglée à au moins un autre dispositif de réseau sur le réseau ;

le dispositif de réseau (50), configuré pour : à la réception du message d'interrogation épinglée, lancer une temporisation d'autre interrogateur présent, et enregistrer une adresse de l'interrogateur ;

et dans lequel l'interrogateur est un interrogateur à Protocole de Gestion de Groupe Internet.

13. Système de réseau selon la revendication 12, comprenant en outre :

un interrogateur de secours (52), configuré pour : établir une connexion de détection rapide avec l'interrogateur, lancer la temporisation d'interrogateur épinglé quand l'interrogateur est défectueux, et lancer la temporisation d'interrogation épinglée quand la temporisation d'interrogateur épinglé expire.

14. Système de réseau selon la revendication 12 ou 13, dans lequel l'interrogateur est configuré en outre pour : recevoir des messages d'interrogation épinglée depuis le dispositif de réseau ; si l'interrogateur ne passe pas à l'état d'interrogateur épinglé, lancer la temporisation d'autre interrogateur présent, et enregistrer les adresses du dispositif de réseau ; ou participer à l'élection avec le dispositif de réseau si l'interrogateur passe à l'état d'interrogateur épinglé.

Drawing